


Marble Halls

by orphan_account



Series: Henry [4]
Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, year of quotes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14091714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Aunt Prudence recalls learning of her sister Margaret's sudden marriage to Henry Fisher. My entry for the March quote challenge.





	Marble Halls

**Author's Note:**

> To the great dismay of some of my fellow fic writers, I am unfamiliar with L. M. Montgomery and her works that are the source of this month's quote challenge. Nevertheless, the quote prompt "I don't want sunbursts or marble halls, I just want you” brought to mind an image of Prudence standing in a marble hall. This fic is an attempt to build something up from that image.

**May, 1930 – Versailles, France**

Prudence came to a standstill in the marble hall. 

It wasn’t the best location for an abrupt stop. 

Streams of tourists flowed around her immovable form, constrained on the right and left by red velvet ropes preventing them from brushing too close to the priceless artworks. Prudence leaned on her cane and looked towards the mirrored ceiling, eyes seemingly fixed on a spectacular gilded sunburst in the center of the mirror’s frame — one of the innumerable symbols of Louis XIV, the Sun King, here in the Palace of Versailles. 

Entering the hallway, Phryne noticed her aunt’s distress. She dropped Jack’s hand and took Prudence gently about the shoulder, ushering her to a small bench beside a grand archway. 

“Rest for a moment, Aunt P,” she said. “Would you like some water?” 

“I'm fine,” Prudence tutted. “You two head on.” 

“Nonsense,” Phryne replied. “Jack, will you ask the guard where we can get a glass of water please.” 

Prudence sighed, then sagged a bit against Phryne’s shoulder as she watched the Inspector dutifully attend to his new assignment. 

Phryne patted her aunt’s hand in a gesture that might have seemed to anyone watching as familial and comforting, then inched her index finger to the underside of Prudence’s wrist to check her pulse. 

“Stop it, Phryne,” Prudence hissed. 

“I _was_ a nurse, Aunt P,” she replied. “Despite your stubborn refusal to recognize your limits, you may just be forced to see a doctor.” 

“It’s not physical,” Prudence said firmly. 

Phryne was only half-listening, catching Jack’s eye across the crowded space as he indicated that he was venturing further into the manse on his quest. 

“My ailment is not physical,” Prudence repeated. “I was struck by a memory as we walked in. I felt as if I was a girl again, here for the first time.” 

“The time Mother was to have come with you,” Phryne supplied. 

“Yes,” Prudence said simply. “The time she chose your father over me.” 

* * *

**May, 1890 – Melbourne**

Margaret waited in the sumptuous lobby of the Grand Hotel. 

It was a very late. To be here alone, without her sister Prudence or a chaperone of any kind, risked certain censure from her parents, yet Margaret found it exhilarating. She simply walked out the front door of her parent’s house, down three familiar blocks to the tram stop, paid her fare, and got on. The city rushed by her window, ablaze with hundreds of gas lights glowing brilliantly. She wasn’t fearful or anxious, as Prudence would have been. She was free. She was alive. 

And there, on cue, was Henry — emerging from the kitchen and shrugging on an elegant evening coat while checking his tie in a gilded mirror. His smiled seemed brighter tonight, his eyes a deeper blue. Margaret imagined the feel of his hands as they waltzed across the ballroom, Henry confident and elegant in his motions, unlike the practiced plodding of Prudence’s beau Edward. 

Henry hadn’t noticed Margaret yet. She enjoyed watching him in his element, surrounded by other back-slapping young men — his card-playing partners, no doubt — lighting a cigar and telling a boisterous story that she couldn’t quite make out. 

And then he turned and saw her, striding forward, locking his eyes on hers, unwavering. Henry swept Margaret into his arms and kissed her, brazenly, in front of everyone. Margaret blushed but didn’t pull away. 

“I wasn’t sure you would come tonight,” he whispered. 

“Prudence and I are leaving for Europe tomorrow,” she answered. “I couldn’t go without seeing you.” 

Henry’s eyes sparkled. He pulled an engagement ring out of his pocket and placed it in Margaret’s palm, smiling widely as the recognition dawned across her face. 

“It’s all arranged,” Henry said. “I have a minister waiting in Ballarat. We’ll go tonight.” 

Margaret looked down. She’d never made a decision of this magnitude on her own. The light from the chandelier made swirling patterns on the lobby’s polished floor. Unbidden, Margaret flashed to an image of a Prudence in a marble hallway in France, examining a painting of a long-dead royal with her scrutinizing gaze. That was the choice, plain as day. Lonely months with Prudence trudging across the continent, or a lifetime of adventure with Henry, starting tonight. 

“Yes,” Margaret said, lifting her eyes to his once again. “I only need you.” 

* * *

**May, 1930 – Paris**

“Have you got her settled for the night,” Jack asked as Phryne re-entered their hotel suite. 

“I believe so,” Phryne answered. “It seems to be fatigue as much as anything. Guy will take her back to London tomorrow.” 

Jack nodded a took a sip of his whiskey. A fire blazed in the hearth, taking the edge off the evening’s chill. A small lamp illuminated the sitting room just enough for Jack to leaf through his novel. Phryne joined him on the couch, his arm extending naturally around her waist to pull her close. 

“You didn’t get to see much at Versailles today,” Phryne noted. “Would you care to go back?” 

“I’d rather not,” Jack replied, “if it’s all the same to you. I’ve had enough of marble halls for this trip.” 

Phryne’s blue eyes sparkled as she turned and kissed him soundly. “What do you say we get out of here in the morning? Take the early train to Nice and stroll the beach by late afternoon.” 

Jack placed his drink on the side table and gathered her fully into his arms. “Yes,” he whispered. “I only need you.” 


End file.
